I am so happy with my results!

Hello all. I have been lurking for a while just...

3 Aug 2012

Hello all. I have been lurking for a while just haven't typed a review yet. I found all your reviews so helpful. I figured while I am lay in in bed recovering I might as well right one. Please excuse grammar or spelling issues I am highly medicated:)

I am 36 years old, 5'6" , and about 145-150 lbs. I am a stay at home mom to 3 kids 3 and under. I have a 3 1/2 year old daughter and 15 month old twin boys. I never gained a ton of weight with my 1 st pregnancy but everything I gained was in my stomach. I recovered really well from that one. Only slight muscle separation that grew back together. I was wearing a bikini the next summer and looking pretty good in it. Now my twin pregnancy was a whole other story. I still didn't gain a ton considering it was twins but again it was mostly belly. Recovery from them was not a piece of cake. My ab muscles had a 4 finger gap and I had a little twin skin, backaches, and very protective of my stomach. Luckily I didn't have stretch marks with either pregnancy. So overall pretty nice skin to work with.

I only talk to one plastic surgeon and felt so comfortable I was sold. I was planning on waiting until next year to have it done but we found out you can't use flex medical spending account for it so I figured why no get it over with. We don't have family around us so we had my parents are here for 2 weeks to help out with the kids. So I had the procedure yesterday. Tummy tuck with a little lipo to my love handles. Piece of cake. I love that you go to sleep and wake up and have no idea what just happened until you try to move.

Post op day 1 Things are pretty good today. Sore but nothing unbearable. Just keeping up my meds and trying to rest as much as I can. I am more tired then anything else. I think I am really only up for about 30-45 in between naps.

Post op day 2. Yesterday started off really...

4 Aug 2012

Post op day 2. Yesterday started off really well, then it hit me. Horrible headache, upset stomach, and puking on and off for 8 hrs. That was not fun. Now I have a headache but have been able to keep some crachers down. Did anyone else get thi? I stopped taking pain meds and switched to tylenol to see if that was causing my headaches. Now I am going to take a shower also hoping that will help.

Day 2 post op again. Things are better now. My...

Post op day 3. Feeling much better today. I feel...

5 Aug 2012

Post op day 3. Feeling much better today. I feel like I am moving really well considering what my body has been through. I am just so tired. I don't think I have taken this many or this long of naps since I got out of college. Is this normal? Other than sleeping I took a couple of laps around my driveway today which completely wore me out. Overall I am pleased with everything. Every time I see my stomach I am impressed. My Dr told me it would turn out great but I really wasn't expecting my pregnant stomach to turn out this nice.

5 days post op- I am feeling really good. Getting...

7 Aug 2012

5 days post op- I am feeling really good. Getting pretty swelled up but I have been expecting that. Moving around good, almost too good I think. I have never been a good sick person. My energy level is coming back up. Little stomach muscle pains but I thought it would be much worse. My allergies are back though. I have a tickle in my throat that keeps coming back. A sneeze snuck up on me this morning and oh my did that hurt. I went into surgery completely stuffed up and came out clear. My allergies haven't bothered me since surgery but they are back now. Hopefully the allergy medicine will actually work. Any tips for make coughing and sneezing not quite as painful. Hopefully I won't need it but just in case;)

Question- I have a red, not bright red but not...

8 Aug 2012

Question- I have a red, not bright red but not normal skin color, patch of skin on my stomach. It is a really big patch from incision to above my belly button and across maybe 3 in across. It isn't hot and I don't have a fever. Is this normal or should I freak out now? I have a call in to the drs office but was curious if anyone experienced this. Thanks!

8 days post op- I am starting to feel a little...

10 Aug 2012

8 days post op- I am starting to feel a little guilty for doing this. I am so happy with my results and recovery so far and I am still happy I did it, but I am feeling guilty for not being able to take care of my kids properly. I feel bad when one of my 15 month old boys comes over and wants to be picked up and I can't do it. I feel bad when one of the kids gets hurt and I can't run over and scoop them up and make it all better. I feel bad that I can't run around the yard and play. I am still feeling great and moving better than I thought I would, but needed to vent a bit. I feel better now:) Thanks!

I realized I haven't really updated in a while. I...

13 Aug 2012

I realized I haven't really updated in a while. I am still feeling great! Things are going so well I am beginning to get paranoid that something horrible is going to happen. We had a really nice but kind of busy weekend and I was tired at the end of the day but not too sore. My husband and I were able to ditch the kids with my parents and have an afternoon all alone. We just went shopping and then stopped for an amazing sushi lunch. This is a really rare occasion since we have no family close to us so we were really excited. I am not taking anything for pain anymore. Mid last week I was still taking Tylenol occasionally but I haven't needed anything for a couple of days. My parents also took the kids to the zoo this morning so I was able to get some of the house cleaned. Another rare treat, I don't remember the last time I had this long in the house all alone. I took it easy and just did a little at a time so it worked out perfect. Anyway you probably would like to hear more about my recovery than my weekend :o) Like I said I am feeling wonderful, moving around great. I have no idea what my incision looks like. I really wish I could see it. I keep thinking maybe there is a problem with it and I just can't see what is going on. Again the paranoa that something is going to happen:) If I had to complain about something, l I am getting a little annoyed with the swelling above my whoha. I know this is just part of the process but it would be nice to have it start going down some. Overall I am still feeling great and loving my new flat stomach! Put up some new pictures even though they look exactly like my last ones:)

Sorry i really wasnt planning on doing another...

16 Aug 2012

Sorry i really wasnt planning on doing another update so soon but its been one of those days. So, it has been two weeks since my surgery and things are going great. Well today has been a pretty tough day. I was lucky enough to have my parents here since the surgery but I took them to the airport yesterday. Today was my first day back to being a full time sahm to my 3 kids. My husband is working from home so he can lift my 16 month old twins out of the cribs and in and out of their highchairs for me, but other than that I am doing everything today. Needless to say it is only 130 and I am so tired ay muscles actually hurt. I might actually have to take a tylenol tonight. The day was going pretty well until one of my boys hit my stitches right on my hip bone with his head. It wasn't really even hard but he hit it at the perfect spot to send pain through my insicion and hip. It felt like someone took a burning hammer to my skin. It was the worst pain I have had this entire process and I was off pain meds on day 3. Everything seems fine. Nothing bled or oozed so now I am just dealing with the left over pain. Not to mention I am dealing with 3 kids who have been completely spoiled for 2 weeks by their grandparents. My twins decided to only take a 1 hr nap, and I seriously can't remember the last time this happened. I have been trying to get them back to sleep but its not working. To top it off they woke up my 3 year old daughter too! Go figure that it would happen today! My very sweet husband is taking off tomorrow so I don't wear myself out too much! I feel like a big wimp today! Vent over! I usually try to stay positive but today I am a felling very negative. Things will be better tomorrow!

I can't believe I am almost 4 weeks po. Where has...

28 Aug 2012

I can't believe I am almost 4 weeks po. Where has the time gone. I am feeling great! I still get tired at the end of the day (I was tired at the end of the day before surgery too) but other than that things are fabulous. I took most of the tape off my incision and am very pleased with what I see. I wasn't really worried about the scar though. I always figured would I rather look pregnant for the rest of my life or have a scar. I chose the scar:) I posted a picture of the scar let me know what you think. I also think my belly button is a little off center but it is worse when I am swollen at the end of the day so I hope when all my swelling goes down it will look pretty much centered. What do you guys think?

I am back to taking care of the kids alone and it has been going very well. I was very nervous about the lifting of my 16 month olds (mostly because it is lifting 25 lbs like 25 times a day) but I have not had any pain from it. I am still trying to take it easy during the day. I am trying not to run around with the kids quite as often, and trying to sit an relax while they play instead of cleaning. Things are pretty much back to normal. This weekend I over did it a little but considering we went out to breakfast, went to home depot, went to the Broncos preseason game, and went out to dinner I wasn't feeling too bad at the end of the day. Literally nothing looks too different with my stomach but I posted new pics anyway. I hope everyone is doing wonderful. Take care all!

I wanted to add that my Dr gave me the OK to start...

28 Aug 2012

I wanted to add that my Dr gave me the OK to start lifting my kids at 2 weeks. I know some Drs suggest waiting 6 weeks before lifting over 10 lbs. My Dr basically said if it starts to hurt stop doing it. I love Drs like him:-) I still wear my cg during the day when I am dealing with the kids. I feel a little more secure for lifting, bending, and all the jumping i tend to do to save one of my boys from falling off something. If I go out I wear spandx and I am wearing spandx at night. I don't know when I am going to give up my cg at home.

Also I have a couple of question. I seem to swell around my incision. Is that normal? My scar seems lumpy, when will that start going away?

Happy happy happy!!!!! This past week I decided to...

3 Sep 2012

Happy happy happy!!!!! This past week I decided to try on some old dresses and I can't believe it but they fit!!!! I wore these dresses on my honeymoon 11 years ago and haven't been able to fit in them for about 4 or 5 years. Actually even better one of the dresses was too small in the boob section. Woohoo!!!! I just thought I would come on and brag a little:)

It has been 2 months since my surgery and things...

1 Oct 2012

It has been 2 months since my surgery and things are still going great! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but life with 3 kids 3 and under is crazy. I feel great and feel like a new women with my thin little stomach:) I feel like now instead of people staring at my stomach thinking I am pregnant again they are staring at in wondering if I really had twins. I feel so much more comfortable in my clothes and my skin now, and I have way more strength than I did before surgery. I still swell a little by my incision (especially by my hips) and sometimes above my belly button. When I over do it I getting pretty sore muscles above my belly button too but other than that everything is back to normal. I have been lifting everything I did before, which includes carrying my two 17 month old boys down the stairs at my daughters preschool. My scar is looking better than I expected, especially since I don't treat it with anything. I still think my belly button is a tad off center but I feel like I need at least one complaint for this whole process so I will pick that to concentrate on ;0) I really could not be more happy with my process, doctor and my end results. I included new pics but I think I have looked the same for a while.

I forgot to add how much weight I lost. I am down...

1 Oct 2012

I forgot to add how much weight I lost. I am down (drumroll please) 1-2 lbs. Yes, you read that correctly. No it is not supposed to be 12 it is really 1 maybe 2 lbs. I just wanted to add this to let people who are just going through the process know that not everyone loses weight with the surgery. I was kind of discouraged when I was reading about everyone's weight loss and I was just about the same as I was before surgery. So just know that you can have good results without losing weight.

I received an email from the doctor yesterday with...

4 Oct 2012

I received an email from the doctor yesterday with my before and my 6 week po pictures so I thought I would share. Dr. Vath did such an unbelievable job! I seriously can't believe that was me and is me if you know what I mean. My stomach before surgery looked exactly like when I was pregnant and after it looks like it did before kids. I am just thrilled! I hope everyone is doing well!

Please see the last picture I put up. Do you see...

4 Oct 2012

Please see the last picture I put up. Do you see that line above my incision? I could not get a great picture of it but this was the best I could do. Anyway, I have it on both sides and it runs out from my hip bone. Does anyone know what that is? Is is just some swelling? Is that what dog ears are? It doesn't really bother me that much I just was curious if anyone has had this.

Over a year later..

27 Aug 2013

It's been over a year since my surgery and I am still so happy I had a tummy tuck done! Things are back to normal and I feel fantastic. I am absolutely thrilled with my stomach and if you are in the Denver area I would definitely recommend Dr. Vath.